UC San Diego

MEDIA
• Tritoncast podcast (2/08/23)
• Triton Magazine Spring Edition: The Future's So Bright (4/27/21)
• Tritoncast (3/24/21)
• Between Two Zooms: Catching Up with Patti Gerckens (5/19/20)
• Mighty 1090 Interview (2/10/16)

Patti Gerckens was named the head coach of the UC San Diego Softball team in 1993, becoming the 11th head coach in program history. She spent 31 seasons at the helm of the Tritons from 1993 to 2024.
 
Over her tenure, Gerckens led the UC San Diego to an 842-691 (.549) overall record.

During the third year of the NCAA Division I sanctioned transition, the gold and blue posted a 19-33 record and a 9-18 record in the Big West. Jada Cecil and Deena Pederson earned conference nods with Cecil earning a spot on the All-Big West First Team for the second season in a row and Pederson earned her first recognition with an Honorable Mention after her season was cut short due to injury. Cecil went on to earn a spot on the NFCA All-West Region Third Team to represent the Tritons.

In the 2022 season, the Tritons finished with an even record overall (28-28) and a winning record in The Big West (15-12).  It was a historical season as the Tritons made their first NCAA DI postseason appearance at the NISC Tournament in Colorado. Six Tritons earned Big West honors with Jada Cecil sweeping the Player of the Year and Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Cecil was named to the top 10 list of finalist for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year award. Gabby Williams and Cecil earned NFCA Divison I All-Region accolades with Williams snagging West Region First Team honors and Cecil earned a spot on the West Region Second team.

Gerckens has seen the Tritons transition from Division III to Division II and now to Division I following the 2021 season. During UC San Diego’s inaugural Big West campaign, Gerckens guided the blue and gold to an overall record of 16-19 and 12-12 in conference play which earned the Tritons a fourth-place finish in the league standings. Gerckens wasted no time in tallying her first Division I win, opening the season with 6-5 victory in 11 innings over Grand Canyon. The Tritons won in walk-off fashion on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze to defeat the Antelopes by one run. 

On the year, UC San Diego completed five Big West series triumphs and four total. Gerckens' team finished the season strong, winning eight of its last 11 games. Five players received All-Big West recognition including Bobbi Aguirre, Robyn Wampler and Gabby Williams who garnered Second Team honors and Sherriah Harrington and Keila Bosinger who picked up Honorable Mention. Williams was also named to the All-Freshman Team.

The winningest head coach in program history, Gerckens posted back-to-back, school-record 45-win seasons and appearances in the Division II championship game during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the first of which brought UC San Diego its inaugural softball title in 2011. The Tritons finished as national runners-up in her milestone 20th campaign in 2012.

Gerckens has amassed an overall record of 795-630 (.558) over her 29-year career. The Tritons went 635-447 (.587) as Gerckens guided the team's transition from Division III to Division II in 2001, including 391-274 (.588) as a member of the ultra-competitive California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), widely considered the best Division II conference in the country.

Gerckens has led UC San Diego softball to 13 NCAA postseason appearances, with 11 at the Division II level.

Since taking over the team in 1993, 34 of Gerckens' players have combined for 63 All-West Region selections. Forty-nine of her players have earned All-CCAA honors since 2001 and five have tabbed All-Big West acknowledgement. She has also coached five All-Americans. Four of her players have earned CCAA Freshman of the Year honors and three Tritons have won CCAA Player or Pitcher of the Year during her tenure.

In 2020, Gerckens led the Tritons to an overall record of 21-8 (.724) and a CCAA record of 12-8 (.600). Amid a shortened season, her team lined the leader boards of both the NCAA and CCAA statistics. UC San Diego placed in the top-15 in six different categories across the nation and sat in the top-three in the conference in batting average, ERA, and fielding percentage. In addition, nine scholar-athletes were listed on the top-10 within individual categories. Throughout the abbreviated campaign, four Tritons reached career milestones, including Robyn Wampler who continues to rewrite the record books in just about all sections. The Tritons were selected to repeat as CCAA Champions in 2020 but were unable to meet or bypass expectations due to an abbreviated year. 
 
With UC San Diego’s transition to the Big West, beginning July of 2020, Gerckens will have witnessed the Tritons evolve from Division III to Division II and now to Division I.

UC San Diego finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 37-17 going 24-9 in conference play. The Tritons were crowned regular season champions for the first time since 2011. After dominating a two-game series over Concordia-Irvine for a NCAA West Region title, UC San Diego punched a ticket to the D-II Softball College World Series, it's first appearance following the 2012 runner-up effort. The team would finish seventh in the NFCA Poll, it’s highest of the season. Four players including senior Maddy Lewis, sophomores Sherriah Harrington and Robyn Wampler, and freshman Keila Bosinger received All-CCAA First Team honors. Harrington and Wampler were also selected First Team All-West Region while Bosinger claimed Second Team All-West Region. 

After much success in the 2019 campaign, Gerckens would be acknowledged at the forefront earning CCAA Coach of the Year for the third time in her career. Gerckens and her staff of Jessica Millsap, Megan Griffith, Nicole Hennessey and Ray Noelte were additionally named NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Later, Gerckens was honored for her significant contributions to the game of softball upon winning the Johngy’s Beat Impact Award. 

During the 2018 season, the Tritons compiled a 36-19 record and went 27-13 in CCAA action. As a freshman, Sherriah Harrington earned a spot on the All-America Third Team and was also was named to the All-West Region First Team. Bobbi Aguirre, Kelsi Maday, and Robyn Wampler garnered All-West Region honors as well, being named to the Second Team. Like Harrington, Wampler had a standout freshman season, and Wampler earned the title of CCAA Freshman of the Year for her efforts. Maday was named the conference's Most Valuable Player the same year. Both Wampler and Maday were on the All-CCAA First Team, joined by Harrington and Maddy Lewis. Aguirre was named to the All-CCAA Second Team.

In 2017, the Tritons went 30-22 overall with a 21-19 mark in CCAA play, and were ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. Maday and Kendall Baker each earned All-CCAA honors, with Maday being named to the first team and Baker receiving second-team accolades. Maday was also an All-West Region selection by both the CCAA and NFCA.

UC San Diego went 37-21 overall and 23-15 in the CCAA during the 2016 campaign, good for fourth place. The Tritons won three-straight games to capture their second CCAA Tournament title and secure the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Maddy Lewis and Maday each earned All-West Region recognition. Six Tritons were All-CCAA performers and Lewis was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Year.

The Tritons were ranked as high as No. 17 nationally in 2016.

In 2012, the Tritons won the CCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after earning just the No. 4 seed for the conference tournament. The Tritons went 10-4 in their NCAA Tournament run, winning nine consecutive elimination games prior to appearing in the national championship game for the second straight year. The Tritons went 45-23, but fell to Valdosta State, 4-1, in the title game. The last time a defending national champion appeared in the NCAA title game the following year was Lock Haven in 2006-07.

Gerckens guided the Tritons to a perfect 9-0 record in the 2011 NCAA Championship, capping the season off with a 10-3 win over then-No. 1 Alabama-Huntsville in the title game.

In 2011, UCSD compiled an overall record of 45-13, which stands as the most wins in a single season in program history and the highest win percentage (.776) since UCSD moved to Division II. The Tritons captured their first-ever CCAA regular-season championship and were awarded the No. 1 seed in the West Region for the NCAA Championship. UCSD swept its opponents in the postseason on its way to the first national championship in program history.

Gerckens also earned 2011 CCAA Coach of the Year, the second of her storied career. In 20 seasons at UCSD, Gerckens' squads have won 30 or games eight times and have finished with a winning record in 13 of those years. Her staff of Jessica Millsap, Nichole Willis, and former players Allison May and Sara Robinson was honored as the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year and NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

After being picked to finish fifth in the 2011 CCAA Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Tritons started the season 16-2 and jumped into the NFCA Top 25 at No. 11 on Feb. 16. UCSD would remain ranked for all 13 weeks during the regular season, including seven weeks in the top 10. UCSD ended the year as the No. 1 team in the NFCA Top 25 for the first time in school history.

In 2010, UCSD opened the completely refurbished Triton Softball Field adjacent to RIMAC. It included new dugouts, a netted backstop, fencing and a covered press box. Moreover, it was made possible by a $250,000 contribution from Dana Chaiken (UCSD Class of 1991) and was the largest contribution ever made by an alumni athlete. The 2010 Tritons compiled an overall record of 30-20, winning 15 of their 18 contests in the month of March. They peaked at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, March 26-28, by earning a spot in the Gold Bracket.

In 2009, the Tritons recorded their second-ever NCAA postseason victory, knocking off CCAA rival Cal State Monterey Bay, 2-1. UCSD's 30-25 season, which ended with a 4-3 loss to Hawai'i Pacific, featured Gerckens' career win No. 400 - a 6-4 decision over Grand Canyon at the Tournament of Champions on April 4. The 2009 season represented the third straight with both an NCAA playoff berth and 30-plus wins.

In 2008, Gerckens recruited arguably the greatest player in program history in pitcher Camille Gaito. The pitcher and San Rafael native, together with classmate Kris Lesovsky in the outfield, played an integral role in vaulting the Tritons firmly into the national scene.

Gerckens' 2008 squad finished with an overall record of 32-24 and 15-17 in the CCAA to advance to postseason play. The Tritons lost a 6-4 decision to Cal State Dominguez Hills on the first day of regional play, before falling to eventual national champion Humboldt State, 3-1, to end the season.

A breakout season in 2007 propelled UCSD to its second-ever berth in the NCAA West Regional after the Tritons posted a 35-27 record during the regular season. Third-seeded UCSD recorded a hard-fought, 1-0 victory in the opening round over Sonoma State, but Gerckens' squad suffered back-to-back heartbreaking losses to second-seeded Cal State Stanislaus and top-seeded Humboldt State to end its postseason run.

Despite the exit from the NCAA regional, the Tritons turned in one of their best seasons in program history in 2007, finishing with a 23-12 record in CCAA play, good enough for a second-place finish in the conference standings. Gerckens was named the 2007 CCAA Coach of the Year and had four players named to All-CCAA teams. She also had two of her student-athletes earn NFCA First Team All-West Region honors.

Gerckens reached a major milestone in 2006, earning career win No. 300 after UCSD knocked off Sonoma State, 12-7, at home on Feb. 25. In 2001, the program's first year at D-II, the Tritons posted an overall record of 34-17 -- just one victory shy of the school's all-time mark. The Tritons finished tied for second in the CCAA with a conference record of 21-11 that season.

Gerckens became the winningest coach in UCSD softball history during the 2000 campaign, taking home the prestigious UCSD Excellence in Coaching Award for her achievement. She subsequently earned that recognition two more times back-to-back for 2010-11 and 2011-12 to total three for her career.

Gerckens went 6-28 in her first season at the helm in 1993; however, she posted a 19-18 record in 1994 and had a winning season in five of her next eight seasons as head coach. In 1997, she led the Tritons to their first Division III West Regional appearance since 1991. The Tritons made their last appearance at the Division III West Regional in 2000, before Gerckens and the Tritons moved to Division II in 2001.

UC San Diego made its first appearance at the NCAA Division II West Regional in 2002, matching a then-school record 35 wins in the process.

On top of her on-field success in La Jolla, Gerckens has served as a great educator for her players. Three former Tritons who excelled under her tutelage went on to be head coaches at NCAA Division I programs. Erin (Bridges) Thorpe became the first-ever softball head coach at Boise State back in 2007 and currently serves as the head coach at UC Davis upon joining the program in 2015. Kim Aggabao coached at South Dakota State in 2011 and later collected six seasons at the helm of CCAA's Cal State Dominguez Hills from 2013-19. In addition, Nikki Palmer was the assistant coach at Utah Valley as the Wolverines headed into their first season of the Western Athletic Conference in 2013. Palmer has led the UC Riverside program since 2016 and serves as the Israeli National Team's head coach.

Gerckens has served on several NCAA committees over the years, including of the ethics and regional variety, and has been on the Women's Softball Rules Committee since 2009, with her term ending in September of 2014.

A native of Old Tappan, N.J., Gerckens graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. She was a four-year starter at second base for the Tar Heels and also played for the New Jersey Blue Jays of the Amateur Softball Association for nine years, winning a championship in 1992.